Lake Stevens pitches $314M bond for ‘tomorrow’s learner’

LAKE STEVENS — Glenwood Elementary School has no doors.

It’s not by mistake. The school was built in 1992 as part of a trend to create more collaborative learning spaces.

Educators have since moved away from this method, but it’s too late for Glenwood.

Instead of doors, the school has open entryways, blocked by curtains. Noise carries between classrooms and students constantly turn their heads at distractions in the hallway.

“It makes it really hard to keep little kids focused when there’s a bunch of activity going on in the hallway,” district spokesperson Jayme Taylor said. “They’ve been asking for doors for a long time.”

The district of close to 10,000 students keeps growing, and many of its elementary schools can’t keep up in their current conditions.

Recognizing the need, the Lake Stevens school board voted in May to place a $314 million bond proposal on the Nov. 5 ballot in the face of chronic overcrowding and ailing facilities.

If approved, the bond would increase property taxes by $0.56 per $1,000 of assessed value for 20 years.

District estimates predict a cost of $29 per month and $350 per year for the average Lake Stevens homeowner. The bond would allow the district to:

• Modernize and expand Glenwood and Skyline elementary schools as well as Lake Stevens Middle School;

• Build a new elementary school across from Stevens Creek Elementary;

• Build what the district calls a “secondary innovative learning center” at Mt. Pilchuck Elementary; and

• Build new gymnasiums at five schools.

District officials said this is an effort to balance enrollment across its schools and improve conditions for students and teachers.

“People move to Lake Stevens because of the excellent schools,” Superintendent Mary Templeton said. “This bond is going to help us fulfill that promise for our students and our families.”

What’s wrong?

In the past eight years, the district’s population has jumped 18% and enrollment jumped 9.7%, according to district data.

Over 1,100 students learn in temporary classrooms. At least 800 are elementary age.

As Lake Stevens grows, Taylor said, the district has no choice but to adapt. “They’re using rooms that were never designed to be classrooms. They’re just making do with whatever they can,” she said. “They do a nice job making it welcoming but it’s definitely cramped.”

Their gym also serves as the cafeteria. Rows of cafeteria tables line hallways alongside gym gear. During lunch, the tables get rolled in. After, the tables return to the hallway in favor of P.E. equipment.

Essential infrastructure is outdated at several schools.

Lake Stevens Middle School was built in 1961, and both Glenwood and Skyline elementary schools were built in 1992.

Building systems like roofing, heating, ventilation, plumbing and fire protection are approaching the end of their lives. During last week’s spate of heat, classrooms with no air conditioning were uncomfortable. Last winter, pipes burst in both elementary schools.

“Those things are distractions,” Templeton said. “Those are the things that we can impact so that’s not a barrier to good learning that takes place.”

What’s on the list?

The school district’s plan aims to remedy many of these issues.

Developed after a three-month study conducted by an advisory committee, district officials said the plan prioritizes student safety, building maintenance and expansion to match rising enrollment.

“The most important thing is the safety of our students and staff,” said Robb Stanton, the district’s executive director of operations services. “The second thing is that we want to take care of the buildings that others have invested in.”

At Glenwood and Skyline, students would see additional classrooms, doors added to all classrooms and new gymnasiums at each school.

Lake Stevens Middle School would also see heavy changes. Many science classrooms lack plumbing, compressed air and ventilation for equipment.

The plan includes a new science and technology wing to provide these resources.

The plan also includes new gyms and new synthetic turf and field lighting.

The proposal would also approve the construction of a new elementary school on district property, across the street from Stevens Creek Elementary School which opened in 2018.

The new school would add about 30 classrooms serving 650 students.

It would house Glenwood students and teachers for a year while the school is renovated.

A “secondary innovative learning center” on the Mt. Pilchuck Elementary campus would serve as a hub for several of the district’s alternative learning programs, including disability education, online learning, credit retrieval and more.

The proposal also includes the following projects:

• Fences around all schools that lock during school hours and funnel visitors through the main office;

• Electronic locks on all portables;

• New gymnasiums at Hillcrest and Mt. Pilchuck elementaries;

• A new district kitchen;

• Updates to special education spaces at Glenwood, Skyline, Highland, Hillcrest and Mt. Pilchuck elementaries, Lake Stevens and North Lake middle schools as well as Cavelero Mid High School; and

• Field lighting at North Lake Middle School and Cavelero Mid High School.

District officials hope to complete all projects by 2029.

What will it cost?

The bond proposal would secure $314 million in funding from taxpayers. However, the district estimates the total cost of all projects would be $383.8 million.

Officials said they will fill that gap with state grants.

“We are efficient with our resources,” Templeton said. “We anticipate getting about $60 million from the state.”

The costs cover:

• $241.8 million for modernizations at Glenwood, Skyline and Lake Stevens Middle School;

• $93.6 million for new construction including the elementary school, gyms and central kitchen;

• $31.3 million for the innovative learning center and special education improvements;

• $13.3 million for security improvements; and

• $3.8 million for athletic improvements at Lake Stevens Middle School, North Lake Middle School and Cavelero Mid High School.

Most recently, voters approved bonds in 2005 and 2016.

The district projected the total cost to taxpayers from the 2016 and 2024 bonds at $1.76 per $1,000 of assessed value.

Some have expressed concerns about overcrowding at the mid-high and high school levels.

“Building a 7th elementary school when the kids at Cav are packed in like sardines and all these kids funnel to just 1 high school seems like poor planning,” former Hillcrest PTA President Alisa Hobson wrote on Facebook.

District leaders argued the most immediate need lies at the elementary level, and the 2016 bond funded revisions to the high school.

Templeton believes it’s an investment in the city.

“Our responsibility with our tax dollars is to make sure that we’re not thinking about today’s learner, but tomorrow’s learner as well,” the superintendent said. “Every single school will be impacted in a positive way.”

The measure will require 60% approval to pass.

Connor Zamora: 425-339-3037; connor.zamora@heraldnet.com; X: @cgzamora02.